Serum hypocretin, neurofilament heavy chain, and interleukin-1β as combined predictors of sleep disorders following acute ischemic stroke

Does your competent? doctor even have a  sleep protocol for you/? When I was in the hospital nurses handed out sleeping pills like candy at 10pm. That IS NOT a sleep protocol!

 Serum hypocretin, neurofilament heavy chain, and interleukin-1β as combined predictors of sleep disorders following acute ischemic stroke

• 

  Chaowei Wang 1*

• Y

  Yunqing Mao 2

• S

  Shuo Wang 1

• L

  Li Liu 1

• G

  Guang Yao 3

• 1. Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan Medical University, Henan Provincial Key Laboratory of Neural Repair and Protein Modification, Henan Provincial International Joint Laboratory of Neural Repair for Senile Dementia, Henan Provincial Engineering Research Center of Neural Repair, Henan Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Neural Repair, and Henan Provincial Medical Key Laboratory of Neurology, Weihui, Henan, China

• 2. Department of Neuroelectrophysiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan Medical University, Henan Provincial Key Laboratory of Neural Repair and Protein Modification, Henan Provincial International Joint Laboratory of Neural Repair for Senile Dementia, Henan Provincial Engineering Research Center of Neural Repair, Henan Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Neural Repair, and Henan Provincial Medical Key Laboratory of Neurology, Weihui, Henan, China

Abstract

Background:

Sleep disorders represent a common and impactful complication following acute ischemic stroke (AIS). This study aimed to identify clinical risk factors and evaluate the predictive(SOLVE the damn problem! PREDICTIONS ARE FUCKING USELESS! Are you that blitheringly stupid? Yep, I guess you are!) value of serum hypocretin (Hcrt), neurofilament heavy chain (NfH), and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) for post-stroke sleep disorders.

Methods:

We conducted a retrospective observational study of 256 patients with AIS. Patients were classified into sleep disorder (n = 161) and non-sleep disorder (n = 95) groups based on their Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores 7 days after stroke onset. Fasting serum levels of Hcrt, NfH, and IL-1β were measured upon admission. We utilized multivariate logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves to evaluate predictive performance. The combined model was internally validated using 1,000 bootstrap resamples to assess optimism-corrected discriminative performance.

Results:

Sleep disorders were present in 62.9% of patients. Nine independent risk factors were identified: age ≥ 65 years (OR = 2.059), snoring history (OR = 1.980), prior stroke (OR = 2.036), lower ADL scores (OR = 1.839), higher HAMD (OR = 1.726) and NIHSS scores (OR = 1.677), decreased serum Hcrt (OR = 1.863), elevated NfH (OR = 2.020), and elevated IL-1β (OR = 1.793; all p < 0.05). Individual biomarker AUCs ranged from 0.742 to 0.781, whereas the combined three-biomarker model achieved a significantly superior AUC of 0.874 (sensitivity 88.82%, specificity 71.58%). Bootstrap internal validation yielded a mean optimism-corrected AUC of 0.861 (95% CI: 0.812–0.903), indicating robust model performance with minimal overfitting.

Conclusion:

Clinical variables alongside altered levels of Hcrt, NfH, and IL-1β serve as independent predictors(I'd fire you all for predictions rather than solutions!) of post-stroke sleep disorders. The combined three-biomarker panel, reflecting neuroendocrine dysregulation, axonal injury, and systemic inflammation, demonstrates substantially superior predictive accuracy over individual biomarkers and offers a clinically practical tool for early identification of high-risk patients.

The 3 Forms of Sleep Disruption That Shrink Your Brain—And How to Tell If Your Sleep Is Actually Protecting You From Cortical Atrophy, Brain Shrinkage and Neurodegeneration

 Does your competent? doctor even have a sleep protocol? In my quad in the hospital almost every morning at 7am the vampires came to draw blood from someone. Sleep quality obviously wasn't considered at all. At 10pm sleeping pills were handed out like candy, do sleeping pills even provide the proper sleep?

The 3 Forms of Sleep Disruption That Shrink Your Brain—And How to Tell If Your Sleep Is Actually Protecting You From Cortical Atrophy, Brain Shrinkage and Neurodegeneration

You’ve probably heard of memory loss or brain fog.

But what about brain shrinkage?

MRI studies show that even in healthy, high-performing adults, the brain starts to lose volume—especially in regions tied to focus, planning, and emotional regulation—as early as your 30s and 40s.

The cortex starts to thin.
Frontal regions lose volume.

And while aging plays a role, there’s another, less obvious driver behind these early changes: sleep quality.

Poor sleep was associated with advanced brain age in midlife.

— Dr. Clémence Cavaillès, UCSF, 2024

New research shows that poor sleep fragmentation, poor REM sleep, or misaligned sleep may be one of the most underrecognized causes of brain shrinkage in midlife.

And it doesn’t take extreme deprivation to matter.

Even subtle disruptions can lead to measurable cortical atrophy over time—undermining both cognitive longevity (your capacity to think, focus, and sustain brain health over decades) and performance longevity (your ability to maintain physical, mental, and emotional output as you age).

This article examines how poor sleep contributes to measurable brain shrinkage—with MRI evidence from clinical and population studies—and defines what truly restorative sleep looks like, according to sleep medicine standards.

It also shows why most consumer sleep trackers miss the biological signals that matter most for long-term brain health.

➤ How fragmented or REM-poor sleep accelerates structural brain decline

➤ Which regions are affected—and how early the changes begin

➤ What defines restorative sleep (hint: it’s not your ring score)

➤ The overlooked sleep disruptor most people never check for

Table of Contents

Section 1: Poor Sleep Quality Triggers Cortical Atrophy, Brain Shrinkage and Brain Aging

• ➤ The UCSF/CARDIA Study – Poor Midlife Sleep and Brain Shrinkage on MRI
• ➤ Neurology 2014 – Cortical Atrophy Tracks with Poor Sleep Efficiency

Section 2: REM Sleep Loss and Brain Shrinkage in Alzheimer’s-Prone Regions

• ➤ Brain Shrinkage Causes in Alzheimer’s-Vulnerable Regions: REM Sleep

Your Sleep Score Isn’t the Whole Story.

Section 3: Night-Time Awakenings and Cortical Atrophy (Cortical Thinning)

• ➤ The 2016 Sleep Study – Sleep Fragmentation and Frontal Cortical Atrophy
• ➤ Why Sleep Fragmentation Is Easy to Miss—and Hard to Repair

Fragmented sleep isn’t always a habit issue.

Section 4: What Good Sleep Really Means (And How to Know If You’re Getting It)

• ➤ Your Sleep Ring Isn’t Telling You Everything

Section 5. Still Waking Up in the Middle of the Night? The One Sleep Factor 99% of People Still Miss

• ➤ What Wearables Miss: Invisible Inputs That Disrupt Sleep
• ➤ The Inputs That Fragment Sleep—And How to Track Them in Real Time
• Explore the Airthings Wave Enhance here.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• What is brain atrophy?
• What causes brain atrophy?
• Can lack of sleep cause brain atrophy?
• What is sleep fragmentation?
• What are the effects of fragmented sleep?
• How to reverse brain shrinkage?

References

Study Links Sleep Medications, Insomnia to Disability in Seniors

 

Well, hasn't your competent? doctor has known of this for years?

• sleeping pills (34 posts to July 2014)

 

Or this for a great click-bait title!

Wow, a two night study and this fantastic headline was created. Don't do this until much more research is created.

These sleeping pills could help reduce Alzheimer’s risk

Your doctor should be prescribing sex instead.  

For Some, Sex Is Better Sleep Aid Than Pill, Small Survey Finds

Two-thirds of people who use sleep meds said they slept just as well or better after sex.

The latest here:

Study Links Sleep Medications, Insomnia to Disability in Seniors

Older adults who experienced frequent insomnia symptoms or regularly used sleep medication may be at a significantly higher risk of developing disability a year later, according to a new longitudinal study published in Sleep.

The study revealed that for each year an individual experienced worsening insomnia symptoms, their risk of developing functional disability increased by 20%. A similar level of heightened risk was observed among individuals with increased usage of sleep medications. Meanwhile, individuals with both insomnia and frequent sleep medication use faced the highest disability risk.

“When we evaluated the relationships between disability, insomnia and sleep medication use, we found that as older people used more sleep medication or experienced more insomnia symptoms, they moved more rapidly towards greater disability,” said Orfeu Buxton, Elizabeth Fenton Susman Professor of Biobehavioral Health at Penn State, Social Science Research Institute co-funded faculty and co-author of the study.

The analysis included over 22,000 individual observations from 6,722 participants -- all aged ≥65 years – in the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), which were collected between 2011 and 2015.

The NHATS dataset incorporated yearly disability assessments using a validated questionnaire that evaluated both self-care activities -- dressing, eating, toileting, and showering -- and mobility functions -- getting out of bed, moving around indoors, and venturing outside. A validated numeric disability scale was utilised to quantify the association between these variables.

For each activity, participants were classified as fully able, vulnerable (ie, requiring accommodations or experiencing difficulty), or requiring assistance. Disability scores were assigned accordingly, with higher scores indicating greater impairment.

Insomnia symptoms and sleep medication use were both measured across 5 frequency levels -- from “never” to “every night” -- and scored from 1 to 5. On average, each level increase in insomnia symptom frequency was associated with a 0.20-point increase in the disability score the following year. Similarly, each level increase in sleep medication use was linked to a 0.19-point increase in score.

“These results indicate that both insomnia and sleep medication use may be contributing to disability,” said lead author Tuo-Yu “Tim” Chen, assistant professor at Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. “As an average example, these numbers suggest that an older adult who increased their sleep medication use from ‘never’ to ‘every night’ over the course of 5 years would be likely to develop a clinically significant disability. On an individual level, we cannot predict risk so specifically, but if an older adult has prolonged sleep problems and/or sleep-medication use over time, they are very likely to become disabled.”

The study built on previous work by the same team, which found that sleep medications increased fall risk among older adults -- a possible contributor to disability. 

“Insomnia can decrease a person’s quality of life both directly and indirectly,” added co-author Soomi Lee, associate professor at Penn State College of Health and Human Development. “Any older adult who experiences insomnia or uses sleep medication needs to talk to their physician about sleep.”

The authors emphasised that non-pharmacological interventions, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, offer a safer and effective alternative for managing insomnia in older populations. 

Reference: https://academic.oup.com/sleep/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/sleep/zsaf098/8113190 

SOURCE: Penn State College of Health and Human Development

Poor Sleep Linked to Brain’s Waste-Removal Breakdown

 What is your competent? doctors EXACT SLEEP PROTOCOL? Oh, you don't have one, do you?  You're getting sleeping pills in the hospital, which doesn't count.

Your doctor should be prescribing sex instead.  

For Some, Sex Is Better Sleep Aid Than Pill, Small Survey Finds

Two-thirds of people who use sleep meds said they slept just as well or better after sex

This is a reason why;

Sleep medications associated with higher risk for dementia in white individuals February 2023

My hospital had the nurses handing out sleeping pills like candy at 10pm. I would have much preferred sex. 

The latest here: 

Poor Sleep Linked to Brain’s Waste-Removal Breakdown

Summary: A new study reveals that poor sleep in older adults disrupts the brain’s glymphatic system, responsible for clearing harmful waste and toxins. Researchers found that compromised sleep quality leads to dysfunction in this crucial system, potentially increasing risks for memory decline and cognitive impairments.

Using advanced brain imaging in 72 older adults, the research highlighted that poor sleep negatively impacts connections within brain networks linked to memory performance. These insights emphasize the importance of maintaining good sleep hygiene to support brain health and healthy aging.

Key Facts:

• Sleep and Brain Health: Poor sleep quality impairs the brain’s glymphatic system, crucial for clearing harmful proteins.
• Cognitive Impact: Dysfunctional glymphatic activity due to poor sleep correlates with memory decline in older adults.
• Neural Networks: Sleep quality directly influences brain networks, affecting overall cognitive health and aging.

Source: University of Hong Kong

Poor sleep among older adults is linked to disruptions in the brain’s “waste removal system”, according to researchers at The University of Hong Kong (HKU).  

A recent study led by Professor Tatia M.C. Lee, Chair Professor of Psychological Science and Clinical Psychology and May Professor in Neuropsychology at HKU, offers valuable insight into how sleep quality impacts brain functioning.

Many studies have linked poor sleep with a decline in brain functioning. Professor Lee’s team focused on the glial-lymphatic (glymphatic) system, a fluid transport pathway that plays a vital role in clearing waste from the brain. The system’s efficiency is a critical determinant of brain health, particularly in ageing populations.

Professor Lee and her team sought to understand the glymphatic-brain relationship in poor sleepers, which underlies memory decline. Dysfunction of the glymphatic system leads to the accumulation of toxic proteins, and this process has recently been implicated in several neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy.

“Sleep quality, brain activities, and glyphamtic functioning are related. Understanding how sleep quality influences the glymphatic system and human brain networks offers valuable insight into the neurophysiological mechanisms underpinning age-related memory change,” Professor Lee said.

The research team studied 72 older adults using functional MRI scans and sleep recordings.  The findings indicate that poor sleep quality adversely affects normal brain function by deactivating the restorative glymphatic system.

“The results clearly reveal the effect of sleep on the human brain’s network through the glymphatic system, which in turn affects memory performance in older adults,” said Professor Lee.

“Therefore, maintaining efficient glymphatic functioning seems crucial for promoting healthy aging.”

The results of the study add important evidence that sleep quality affects cognitive health through the underlying neural relationships.

“Impaired memory is a common complaint among older adults with poor sleep quality,” Professor Lee noted.

“Our results provide a novel perspective on the interplay between sleep, the glymphatic system and multimodal brain networks.”

This study was recently published in Molecular Psychiatry in an article entitled “Effects of sleep on the glymphatic functioning and multimodal human brain network affecting memory in older adults”.

About this aging and sleep research news

Author: Jaymee Ng
Source: University of Hong Kong
Contact: Jaymee Ng – University of Hong Kong
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: Open access.
“Effects of sleep on the glymphatic functioning and multimodal human brain network affecting memory in older adults” by Tatia M.C. Lee et al. Molecular Psychiatry

Scientists Just Found a New Alzheimer's Warning Sign

Ask your competent? doctor to ensure you get REM sleep, and not from sleeping pills.  I'm sure I didn't have dreams for a couple of years post stroke.

Scientists Just Found a New Alzheimer's Warning Sign

Alzheimer’s disease is a devastating condition that impacts millions of families around the world. But scientists are still trying to pinpoint the elements that go into why some people develop Alzheimer’s disease and others don’t. Now, a new study suggests that your sleep patterns may play a role.

The study, which was published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia on January 27, specifically looked at the relationship between REM sleep and Alzheimer’s disease. But what’s the link between the two and, more importantly, how can you use this information to lower your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease? A neurologist explains.

Meet the expert: W. Christopher Winter, MD, a neurologist and sleep medicine physician with Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine and host of the Sleep Unplugged podcast.

What did the study find?

For the study, researchers looked at how long it took 123 people to reach rapid eye movement (REM) sleep for the first time after falling asleep, as well as several biomarkers linked to Alzheimer’s disease. (REM sleep is a stage of sleep where your eyes move quickly and you dream, per the Cleveland Clinic. It’s important for learning and memory, too.)

Of the participants, 64 had Alzheimer’s disease and 41 had mild cognitive impairment, while the others had normal cognitive function. All of the participants did a sleep study, as well as scans for biomarkers that indicated Alzheimer’s.

The researchers discovered that people who took longer to get to the REM stage of sleep were more likely to have biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease.

Is there a relationship between sleep and Alzheimer’s?

The relationship between sleep and Alzheimer’s disease is still being explored. The Alzheimer’s Society notes that people living with dementia tend to have sleep issues, but the evidence is currently unclear on whether poor sleep is a risk factor for the disease.

However, some research suggests that poor sleep could raise your risk of Alzheimer’s. A study published in November found that 35 percent of people who were considered poor sleepers (and felt excessively tired during the day as a result) went on to develop motoric cognitive risk syndrome (MCR), which is considered a precursor to dementia.

“Poor sleep quality has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease,” says W. Christopher Winter, MD, a neurologist and sleep medicine physician with Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine and host of the Sleep Unplugged podcast. “Conversely, individuals who sleep well, and get consistent amounts of sleep on a consistent schedule, seem to reduce their risk of cognitive impairment.”

Can a lack of REM sleep increase my risk of Alzheimer’s?

It’s hard to say for sure at this point. While the researchers concluded that more studies are needed, they also said a slower movement to REM sleep could serve as a “potential marker” for Alzheimer’s disease.

Given that good sleep is linked to good overall health, it can’t hurt to try to improve your sleep.

How can I get more REM sleep?

Most people go through four to six sleep cycles a night, and REM sleep is part of that. Unfortunately, you can’t dictate the stages of sleep you enter and when. What you can do is try to focus on getting good sleep, period.

Winter offers up these tips to help support good sleep:

• Have a set bedtime and wake time, and do your best to stick to it.

• Limit alcohol and caffeine, especially avoiding caffeine later in the day.

• Try to be physically active, and aim to work out in the mornings to support your body’s natural sleep/wake cycle.(Your doctors' complete responsibility to get you to this state)

• Create a good, consistent bedtime routine that helps you wind down for the evening.

• Be wary of sleep aids. “Ironically, some sleep aids affect REM sleep,” Winter says.(So, no sleeping pills, which my hospital handed out like candy at 10pm.)

How can I reduce my risk of Alzheimer’s?

Researchers don’t know exactly what causes Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, making it tough to know for sure how to prevent it. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends doing these things to help lower your risk:

• Be physically active(Your doctors' complete responsibility to get you to this state)

• Try to prevent or manage diabetes

• Manage your blood pressure

• Try to prevent or correct hearing loss

• Try to limit or avoid drinking alcohol

• Try to limit or avoid smoking

Advertisement

If you’re struggling with sleep, Winter says it’s important to consult with a healthcare professional sooner rather than later. They should be able to do a sleep study—which can give you more information on what’s behind your sleep issues—and make personalized recommendations from there.

These Popular Pills May Increase Your Risk of Alzheimer’s

 Well, hasn't your competent? doctor has known of this for years?

• sleeping pills (34 posts to July 2014)

 

Or this for a great click-bait title!

Wow, a two night study and this fantastic headline was created. Don't do this until much more research is created.

These sleeping pills could help reduce Alzheimer’s risk

Your doctor should be prescribing sex instead.  

For Some, Sex Is Better Sleep Aid Than Pill, Small Survey Finds

Two-thirds of people who use sleep meds said they slept just as well or better after sex

This is a reason why;

Sleep medications associated with higher risk for dementia in white individuals February 2023

My hospital had the nurses handing out sleeping pills like candy at 10pm. I would have much preferred sex. 

You doctor is responsible for getting you fucking again post stroke.

With all the benefits of sex I bet your doctor doesn't know or do a damn thing for your sex life.  I'll have to add this one: Among them are delayed onset of dementia

All this is why you need to be doing lots of sex, why the hell can't your doctor get you fucking again? In fact you should be doing it in the hospital.

The latest here:

These Popular Pills May Increase Your Risk of Alzheimer’s

People who often take medications to aid their sleep are at increased risk of developing dementia, according to a new report. The study found that older white adults who “often” or “almost always” took a prescription sleeping pill at night to help get a better night’s sleep were much more likely to develop dementia than those who “rarely” or “never” used such medications. Older Black adults who often took sleeping pills did not show the same increase in dementia risk, though in the study, Black seniors were far less likely to be frequent users of prescription sleep medicines than whites of the same age.

For the study, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, looked at 3,068 seniors whose average age was 74; 58 percent were white, and 42 percent were Black. None had Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia at the start of the study, and none lived in a nursing home. 

The researchers also recorded how often they took prescription sleeping pills. Almost 8 percent of the white participants took sleep medications “often” (five to 15 nights a month) or “almost always” (16 times a month to every night), compared to fewer than 3 percent of the Black participants.  

The investigators tracked them for an average of nine years. During that time, about 20 percent of the study participants had developed Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia.  

The researchers found that white adults who took sleeping pills “often” or “almost always” had a 79 percent higher risk of developing dementia than those who “never” or “rarely” took them. Black adults who frequently took sleeping pills did not have a higher dementia risk than those who occasionally took them. The findings were published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 

There were notable differences between white and Black adults in sleeping pill use. Compared to the older Black adults, white seniors were almost twice as likely to use benzodiazepine drugs like Halcion, Dalmane or Restoril. White were also more than seven times as likely to take another type of sedative-hypnotic, so-called “Z-drugs” like Ambien, and 10 times as likely to take trazodone, an antidepressant that is often prescribed to aid sleep. 

The findings build on earlier research showing how sound, restorative sleep may help gird the brain against the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease. Healthy older adults who sleep soundly tend to have less buildup of beta-amyloid in the brain. Deep sleep appears to act as a kind of cleaning system, ridding the brain of toxic debris. Other studies have shown that men and women who slept less than six hours a night in their 50s and 60s were at increased risk of developing dementia when they were older. Similarly, sleep apnea, a common disorder in which people stop breathing for short periods during the night, has been linked to memory decline and dementia.  

Sleep problems generally increase with advancing age. While many people turn to sleeping pills, such drugs may disrupt our natural sleep architecture, which alternates between five stages of sleep during each sleep cycle. Importantly, insomnia medications do not fully induce deep sleep, which is the most restorative one, and may in fact interfere with our natural circadian rhythms, the roughly 24-hour daily cycle that regulates our sleep and wakefulness.  

Study author Yue Leng of the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences noted that people with sleep troubles should avoid the chronic use of prescription drugs for sleep if possible. “The first step is to determine what kind of sleep issues patients are dealing with. A sleep test may be required if sleep apnea is a possibility,” she said. “If insomnia is diagnosed, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, or CBT-I, is the first-line treatment.” CBT teaches people to challenge negative thoughts at bedtime with positive thoughts that induce relaxation. “If medication is to be used, melatonin might be a safer option, but we need more evidence to understand its long-term impact on health,” Dr. Leng continued. 

By  ALZinfo.org, The Alzheimer’s Information Site. Reviewed by Marc Flajolet, Ph.D., Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation at The Rockefeller University.  

Source: Yue Leng, Katie Stone, Kristine Yaffe: Race Differences in the Association Between Sleep Medication Use and Risk of Dementia. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, January 31, 2023

These sleeping pills could help reduce Alzheimer’s risk

Wow, a two night study and this fantastic headline was created. Don't do this until much more research is created.

These sleeping pills could help reduce Alzheimer’s risk

These sleeping pills could help reduce Alzheimer’s risk© Provided by talker

(Photo by Robina Weermeijer via Unsplash )© Provided by talker

By Mark Waghorn via SWNS

Taking sleeping pills could reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's, according to new research.

People who popped the drugs before bedtime had fewer rogue brain proteins linked to the disease.

Scientists described results as "very encouraging." Not getting enough shut-eye is linked to cognitive decline.

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The two-night study hints at a potential treatment to slow or stop progression of dementia.

Participants were given suvorexant - sold under the brand name Belsomra to combat insomnia.

Senior author Professor Brendan Lucey, of Washington University in the United States, said: "This is a small, proof-of-concept study.

"It would be premature for people who are worried about developing Alzheimer's to interpret it as a reason to start taking suvorexant every night.

"We don't yet know whether long-term use is effective in staving off cognitive decline, and if it is, at what dose and for whom."

But he added: "Still, these results are very encouraging. This drug is already available and proven safe, and now we have evidence it affects the levels of proteins that are critical for driving Alzheimer's disease."

Disturbed sleep can be an early sign. Many patients start experiencing it years before memory loss and confusion emerge.

Related video: Blood test offers hope for early detection of Alzheimer's (FOX News)

This is something I think a lot of people are

FOX News

Blood test offers hope for early detection of Alzheimer's

It's a vicious cycle - Alzheimer's involves changes to the brain that disrupt sleep and poor sleep accelerates harmful changes to the brain.

Suvorexant works by blocking a chemical that promotes wakefulness. Three orexin inhibitors have already been approved by the Food and Drug Administration - and more are in the pipeline.

Alzheimer’s disease begins when plaques of amyloid beta start building up - killing neurons. Years later a second protein called tau also forms into toxic tangles.

Prof. Lucey's team was among the first to discover the link between poor sleep and higher levels of amyloid and tau in the brain.

Experiments on mice given orexin inhibitors have suggested good sleep may have the opposite effect- a reduction in the harmful proteins and prevention of Alzheimer's.

In the first study of its kind 38 participants aged 45 to 65 with no cognitive impairments were given a lower or higher dose (10 or 20 mg) of suvorexant - or a placebo - at 9 p.m. - and then went to sleep in a specialist lab.

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Researchers withdrew a small amount of cerebrospinal fluid via spinal tap every two hours for 36 hours, starting one hour before the sleeping aid or dummy pill was administered, to measure how amyloid and tau levels changed over the next day and a half.

Amyloid levels dropped ten to 20 percent in those who had received the high dose of suvorexant. A key form of tau, known as hyperphosphorylated, also fell ten to 15 percent.

There was not a significant difference between peers who received a low dose and the rest who got the placebo.

By 24 hours after the first dose, tau levels in the high-dose group had risen, while amyloid levels remained low compared to the placebo group.

(Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya via Unsplash )© Provided by talker

A second dose of suvorexant, administered on the second night, sent the levels of both proteins down again for people in the high-dose group.

Prof. Lucey said: "If we can lower amyloid every day, we think the accumulation of amyloid plaques in the brain will decrease over time.

"And hyperphosphorylated tau is very important in the development of Alzheimer's disease, because it's associated with forming tau tangles that kill neurons.

"If you can reduce tau phosphorylation, potentially there would be less tangle formation and less neuronal death."

Prof. Lucey has studies underway to assess the longer-term effects of orexin inhibitors in people at higher risk of dementia.

The number of cases worldwide will triple to more than 150 million by 2050.

With no cure in sight, there is an increasing focus on lifestyle factors that reduce risks such as eating well and getting plenty of exercise and sleep.

Prof. Lucey added: "Future studies need to have people taking these drugs for months, at least, and measuring the effect on amyloid and tau over time.

"We are also going to be studying participants who are older and may still be cognitively healthy, but who already have some amyloid plaques in their brains.

"This study involved healthy middle-aged participants. The results may be different in an older population.

"I am hopeful that we will eventually develop drugs that take advantage of the link between sleep and Alzheimer's to prevent cognitive decline.

"We are not quite there yet. At this point, the best advice I can give is to get a good night's sleep if you can, and if you can't, to see a sleep specialist and get your sleep problems treated."

The study was published in the journal Annals of Neurology.

The post These sleeping pills could help reduce Alzheimer’s risk appeared first on Talker.